The present invention generally relates to the field of monitoring and access of the utilization of programs and devices as pertaining to information handling systems, and particularly to the use, manipulation, and access of representations of prior and current usage.
Today, users of information handling systems have access to a wide range of resources. For example, faster processors and expanded memory enable a user to operate more than one program at a time, as well as connect an increasingly greater variety of devices to the information handling system, such as printers, modems, touch pads, write pads, voice recognition devices, satellite information, network access, etc. The variety and sheer number of available devices and resources connected to even one system may make tracking the performance and utilization of these resources near impossible, especially if the system is connected to a network. A user operating a typical information handling system may generally determine which programs are currently operating, but may not determine how they are operating, which tasks are being performed, or the utilization by the program of devices connected to the system. Additionally, a user may not have a clear idea of the past usage of the system. Errors may occur as a result of a downloaded document, incomplete installation, or malfunctioning device. Without the ability to view past usage and the association of various programs utilized, a user must merely guess at the cause of the problem.
In some instances even when the past usage of a resource is stored, the user may not determine the association of the resources. For example, a web browser may save accessed web sites saved in a history section displayed in alphabetical order relating to a specified unit of time. These saved histories are capable of accessing the previous item stored on the system or connecting through an active connection to access the resource, such as a web page. However, even though the relationship of a web page may be displayed as it pertains to the specific site, the association of the web pages to each other may not be shown. For instance, a user may determine that a particular site was accessed during a particular time and that a particular page is a component of a particular site, but the user may not determine the association of the sites with each other, such as the order the sites were accessed, the organization structure of the sites, how the sites were accessed, etc. Secondly, a user may not apply this information to other actions taken on an information handling system, such as the utilization of devices, programs, etc.
Furthermore, current usage of a system is typically stored in a chronological fashion. For example, sites visited by a user during a browsing session are typically listed in the order accessed. If a user accesses an initial site, then a second site, and then accesses the initial site again, the history is shown as initial site, second site, initial site. In other instances, a history of the current browsing session may merely show repeated accessing of the main site, even though pages within the site were accessed. Therefore, it may be advantageous to show prior access of resources and utilization of an information handling system by a user in organizational scheme so the association of the resources, devices, etc. may be communicated.
Additionally, users of current web browsers and operating systems may utilize navigation controls to navigate through sites and windows that were previously accessed by the user. However, once a user exits the program or terminates the system, this data is lost. For example, a user must then either try to remember the address to the desired site or save desired sites and pages as a xe2x80x9cbookmarkxe2x80x9d or on a list of xe2x80x9cfavoritesxe2x80x9d to access the site after termination of the browsing session. Therefore, it may be advantageous to save navigation histories so as to be accessed later by a user to enable the utilization of the navigation history by the navigation functions included in the information handling system.
Therefore there is a need for a system and method for persistent usage context of an information handling system.
The present invention is directed to a system and method for generating a persistent usage context. In an exemplary embodiment, a method of generating a persistent usage context includes monitoring usage of an information handling system and generating a first representation corresponding to a first item of usage and a second representation corresponding to at least one of the first item of usage and a second item of usage. The first representation and second representation are communicated so as to communicate an association of the first representation to the second representation and to enable a determination of at least one of the prior usage and current usage of an information handling system.
In another exemplary embodiment, a user may determine the current and prior usage of an information handling system both locally on the information handling system and over a network as well as determine the utilization of a plurality of information handling systems. By utilizing representations depicting current and prior items of usage, such as the operation of a word processor, spread sheet, email, device, etc., a user may view activities performed on the system as well as the association of the activities. In this manner, a user may determine which programs are currently operating, which tasks are being performed, and the utilization by the program of devices connected to the system. This may also enable a user to determine the source of problems which occurred on the system by viewing a usage history of tasks and actions performed by the system. Furthermore, in another embodiment a user may access information and actual tasks and programs utilized by the system by utilizing the representation.
In a further exemplary embodiment, representations may be displayed in an organizational scheme. In one example, representations depicting the usage history of an information handling system may be communicated so as to disclose the association of the resources as utilized by the user.
In an additional exemplary embodiment, the present invention is directed to a system and method wherein a persistent usage context, for instance navigation in a web browsing session, operating system, etc. may be stored. The method of generating a persistent usage context includes monitoring the navigation of a resource during a first navigation session to obtain navigation data and storing navigation data pertaining to the first navigation session. Then, the method involves initiating a second navigation session of at least one of the first resource and a second resource and loading stored data in at least one of the first resource and the second resource so as to enable the utilization of stored first navigation data during the second navigation session. For example, this may enable a user to store web browsing contexts for later use even after the web browsing session has terminated. In a preferred embodiment, saved usage contexts may be stored and selectively accessed on a user""s information handling system. In another embodiment, the persistent usage context may act to load previously accessed sites into a user""s web browser to enable the user to utilize the forward and backward buttons as if the web session were still active.
It is to be understood that both the forgoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the general description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.